Lead Recurring Giving Specialist (Fundraising)

Job Posting Organization:
The Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia and other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Established with the mission to provide free access to knowledge for everyone, it serves nearly half a billion users every month. The organization is supported by a community of millions of individual donors globally and is the only non-profit in the top 50 websites. The Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization based in the United States, with offices in San Francisco, California, and operates in over 40 countries.

Job Overview:
The Lead Recurring Giving Specialist will be responsible for owning and growing the recurring giving program at the Wikimedia Foundation. This role is crucial for driving donor retention, upgrades, reactivation, and maximizing the long-term value of both monthly and annual donors. The successful candidate will employ a creative, data-driven mindset and a strong test-and-learn approach to enhance supporter engagement through various channels, including email, direct mail, SMS, on-platform messaging, and self-service donation tools. The position requires a strategic thinker who can design and optimize donor journeys, manage complex data selections, and ensure that all communications are donor-focused and aligned across channels. The role also involves monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) and adjusting tactics to meet revenue targets, as well as collaborating with various teams to enhance donor experiences and maximize lifetime value.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Own and grow the recurring giving program, leading initiatives to expand the sustainer base, improve donor retention, reduce attrition, and drive long-term value of monthly and annual donors.
• Develop upgrade and cross-sell strategies to increase donor lifetime value (LTV), including structured ask strings based on LTV, giving history, and engagement behavior.
• Contribute to sustainer acquisition strategy guided by the dedicated team.
• Design and optimize tailored donor journeys to deliver an optimal donor experience across onboarding, retention, upgrade, reactivation, and win-back.
• Lead and continuously improve dunning processes, including payment retries, recovery strategies, lapse prevention, and reactivation campaigns.
• Oversee and optimize self-management donation tools.
• Continually refine supporter touchpoints ensuring all recurring giving communications are donor-focused and aligned across channels.
• Oversee campaign implementation end-to-end, conducting complex data selections and segmentation, ensuring strong execution.
• Monitor KPIs, produce reports and adjust tactics to meet revenue and targets related to acquisition, retention, attrition, recovery, upgrade, and lifetime value. 1
• Contribute to the development and management of the acquisition and recurring giving budget. 1
• Partner with the data team to ensure analysis supports strategic decision-making. 1
• Collaborate in donor research initiatives to inform program improvements. 1
• Support the Audience Strategy team in initiatives beyond recurring giving aiming to enhance donor upgrade opportunities and increase donor lifetime value (LTV). 1
• Work closely with colleagues across Fundraising to ensure activities are coordinated, strategic, and supporter-centric.

Required Qualifications:

• Experience managing and analyzing sustainer giving programs.
• Proficiency in donor retention, upgrade strategies, recurring donation management, and techniques for growing donor lifetime value.
• In-depth knowledge of supporters, the market, and the charity sector to predict future trends across global fundraising markets.
• Experience launching, managing, and testing fundraising campaigns and dunning processes across multiple channels, as well as integrated direct response marketing principles.
• Experience working with detailed audience segmentation, data analysis, and managing complex donor journeys across multiple audience segments.
• Comfortable working with donor KPI metrics and utilizing them to drive strategic decisions.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams and departments.
• A proactive and results-oriented approach, with a commitment to continuous improvement and learning.

Educational Background:


Experience:
The position requires significant experience in managing and analyzing sustainer giving programs, with a strong emphasis on donor retention and upgrade strategies. Candidates should have a proven track record of launching and managing fundraising campaigns across various channels, demonstrating an ability to work with complex donor journeys and audience segmentation.

Languages:
While the job description does not specify mandatory languages, proficiency in English is likely essential given the organization's global reach and communication needs. Additional languages may be beneficial, especially those relevant to the organization's donor base.

Additional Notes:
This role is remote-first, allowing for flexibility in work location. The Wikimedia Foundation values diversity and encourages applicants from various backgrounds to apply. The anticipated annual pay range for applicants based within the United States is between US$114,758 to US$177,097, with compensation adjusted based on location for non-US applicants. The organization is committed to equitable pay and does not consider salary history in its hiring process.